ONASSIS STEGI TRAVELS TO THE STAGES OF EUROPE

Photo: Kevin Deery & Mike Rafail

The promotion and support of artists are at the core of the Onassis Stegi existence. During the last decade, more than 60 productions of Stegi have been praised at hundreds of shows, hosted by cultural spaces around the world. While stages remain closed in Athens, Greek artists travel abroad with the productions of Stegi, thanks to the support of the Onassis Cultural Export program, presenting Greece at its best.

The world premiere of RootlessRoot with their new show Stones & Bones, which was postponed in April 2020 due to the pandemic, was scheduled for September 30, at the Main Stage of Stegi. The rehearsals restarted in September, and the performers were practicing in an empty hall on the planned dates. Stones & Bones will finally have its world premiere at the International Festival of Contemporary Dance Bratislava In Movement in Slovakia, on October 17, 2020, before an audience of 50 people. In the show, the choreographers Jozef Frucek and Linda Kapetanea work with the sculptor Peter Randall, a master of his art, and delve into the mysteries of marble, this unique natural material, which poses great challenges when used on stage. Five female performers, accompanied by live music, face off on stage against marble, creating a poem about the fragility of human existence and the eternity of rock.

Euripides Laskaridis’ ELENIT, which was highly acclaimed during the previous season at Stegi, restarts its tour which was interrupted in March. A tragic comedy with subversive and outrageous humor and a troupe of strange creatures will parade on major European stages. The first one will be the Théâtre de la Cité Internationale in Paris, on November 5, 6 and 7, with the support of the New Settings program, Fondation d’entreprise Hermes, while on November 25 and 26 it will presented on the stage of Bonlieu Scène Nationale of Annecy in southern France. Many more destinations will follow in 2021.

Moreover, the choreographer Christos Papadopoulos restarts the successful tour of the show ION, which made the whole Europe follow its rhythm in the past years. A performance that focuses on the microphysics of motion, the volume of detail that can derive from a kinetic pattern allowing the eye to wander, to travel through the boundless field of human relations. On October 16 and 17, the production travels to Lisbon, Portugal, and is presented on the main stage of Culturgest, while on November 20-22 it will be presented in Madrid, Spain, at the 38th Autumn Festival, among significant productions from all over the world.

Stegi supports artists in every step they make. Kyriaki Goni’s Data Garden (2020), due to the pandemic restrictions, was presented to the audience only through a virtual tour that took place at the exhibition hall of Stegi, which is available on the Onassis Stegi channel since September 9. Stegi also supports the presentation of the internationally emerging artist’s multimedia installation Networks of Trust (2018), at the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial, from October 15 to November 15 2020.

Music could not be missing from the cultural export program. Stegi continues its regular cooperation with the talented ARTéfacts ensemble, which seeks to discover and perform contemporary repertoire, by supporting its concerts in Strasbourg, France, on November 6 and 7, in the context of the HANATSUmiroir celebrates its 10 years. The ARTéfacts ensemble participates in the celebration with new works specifically for this occasion, composed by Nicolas Tzortzis, Panos Iliopoulos and Alexandros Drosos.

Stegi travels to the stages of the world wishing that it will be able to welcome the audience to its own stage soon. We hope that all cultural spaces in Greece will open soon, complying with all security instructions, maybe for smaller audiences, but always with this moving rhythm that brings together artists and audience in unique ways.